================================================================
O'Reilly UG Program News--Just for User Group Leaders
February 20, 2004
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-Add your group listing to the new O'Reilly User Group Wiki
-Do you belong to Orkut?
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Book Info
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***Review books are available 
Copies of our books are available for your members to review--
send me an email and please include the book's ISBN number on 
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Allow at least four weeks for shipping. 

***Please send copies of your book reviews
Email me a copy of your newsletters or book reviews.
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***Discount information
Don't forget to remind your members about our 20% discount on O'Reilly, 
No Starch, Paraglyph, and Syngress books and conferences. 
Just use code DSUG.

***Group purchases with better discounts are available
Please let me know if you are interested and I can put you in 
touch with our sales department.

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General News
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***Add your group listing to the new O'Reilly User Group Wiki 
Promote your events, projects, and yourselves to your fellow O'Reilly 
User Group Program members.
http://wiki.oreillynet.com/usergroups/view?HomePage


***Do you belong to Orkut? 
I have started an O'Reilly User Group Community if you would like to
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================================================================
O'Reilly News for User Group Members
February 20, 2004
================================================================
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Book News
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-Linux Pocket Guide
-Ethereal Packet Sniffing
-Getting Started with LEGO Trains
-iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual
-Check Point Next Generation with Application Intelligence 
Security Administration
-Hardware Hacking: Have Fun While Voiding Your Warranty
-Oracle Essentials, 3rd Edition: Oracle Database 10g
-Squid: The Definitive Guide
----------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming Events
----------------------------------------------------------------
-Tony Stubblebine ("Regular Expression Pocket Reference"), 
Oakland, CA--March 9
-Mac User Group Day at O'Reilly in Sebastopol, CA--April 24
----------------------------------------------------------------
Conferences
----------------------------------------------------------------
-O'Reilly's Digital Democracy Teach-In a Success
-Annotating Everything: Marc A. Smith at ETech
----------------------------------------------------------------
News
----------------------------------------------------------------
-Happy Hacking!
-Finalists for the 2004 Jolt Awards
-Safari Gets Bigger and Better
-Things Squid Administrators Should Know
-A Ticketing System for a Three-Tiered Architecture
-Home Automation with Mac OS X, Part 1
-Automated Backups with Existing Tools
-Protect Yourself Against Denial-of-Service Attacks
-Book Preview: Eclipse
-Six Cool New JSP and Servlet Features
-O'Reilly Network Is SXSW Web Awards Finalist
-Cooking with C#
-ADO.NET Connection Pooling Explained
----------------------------------------------------------------
News From Your Peers
----------------------------------------------------------------
Check out the new O'Reilly User Group Wiki for the latest news

================================================
Book News
================================================
Did you know you can request a free book to review for your
group? Ask your group leader for more information.

For book review writing tips and suggestions, go to:
http://ug.oreilly.com/bookreviews.html

Don't forget, you can receive 20% off any O'Reilly, No Starch, 
Paraglyph, or Syngress book you purchase directly from O'Reilly.
Just use code DSUG when ordering online or by phone 800-998-9938.
http://www.oreilly.com/


***Free ground shipping is available for online orders of at 
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applies to U.S. delivery addresses in the 50 states and Puerto Rico.
For more details, go to:
http://www.oreilly.com/news/freeshipping_0703.html

----------------------------------------------------------------
New Releases
----------------------------------------------------------------
***Linux Pocket Guide
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0-596-00628-4
"Linux Pocket Guide" gets you up to speed quickly on day-to-day Linux 
use.
The book begins with general concepts like files and directories, the
shell, and X windows, and then presents detailed overviews of the most
essential commands. You'll learn each command's purpose, usage, 
options,
location on disk, and even the RPM package that installed it. Throw in 
a
host of valuable power user tips and a friendly, accessible style, and
you'll find this practical, to-the-point book a small but mighty 
resource
for Linux users. 
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/linuxpg/

Sample excerpts are available online:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/linuxpg/chapter/index.html.


***Ethereal Packet Sniffing
Publisher: Syngress
ISBN: 1-932266-82-8
"Ethereal Packet Sniffing" is the first book available on Ethereal, the
premier open source protocol analyzer for Windows and Unix. Ethereal
offers more protocol decoding and reassembly than any free sniffer out
there, and this book will show you how to make the most of it. You'll
learn how to use Tethereal, the command-line version of Ethereal; 
install
and build Ethereal from source; pinpoint network problems using filters 
to
manage network operations and traffic; import and export files between
Ethereal and various compatible products; and so much more.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/1932266828/


***Getting Started with LEGO Trains
Publisher: No Starch Press
ISBN: 1593270062
Learn to build LEGO Trains, from setting up train tracks to building
custom freight cars. Jacob H. McKee, an authority on LEGO Trains, 
teaches
basic building techniques and shares some of his most fascinating and
original train designs. You'll learn how to build a North 
American-style
locomotive, a 1940's refrigerator car, and an intermodal container car,
plus you'll gain the skills to create your own designs. Four color
throughout.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/1593270062/


***iPod & iTunes: The Missing Manual
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0-596-00658-6
iTunes and the iTunes music store aren't just for Mac fans anymore. 
Anyone
running Windows XP or 2000 can now cash in on all the capabilities of 
this
music store jukebox. Our new version of "iPod & iTunes: The Missing
Manual" has been thoroughly updated to reflect these changes. No matter
what kind of music moves you, this book will help you get much more out 
of
your iPod--and much more into it.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/ipodtmm2/


***Check Point Next Generation with Application Intelligence 
Security Administration
Publisher: Syngress
ISBN: 1-932266-89-5
From the authors of Syngress's best-selling "Check Point NG Security
Administration" comes the definitive work on Check Point's latest 
product
release: Check Point NG Feature Pack 4. No competing book covers every
product contained within FP 4 (SMART, SecurePlatform, SecureXL, 
ClusterXL,
and Performance Pack). Although not a study guide, this book will cover
all objectives on Check Point's CCSA exam and a free exam simulator 
will
be available from syngress.com
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/1932266895/


***Hardware Hacking: Have Fun While Voiding Your Warranty 
Publisher: Syngress
ISBN: 1932266836
"Hardware Hacking" is for people who dream of running Linux on an Xbox 
and
opening a garage door with a PDA. To successfully hack consumer and 
SOHO
electronic devices, you need knowledge of electrical engineering,
operating systems, software coding, and mechanics; the first part of 
this
book is a primer on these topics. Then the real fun begins. You'll 
learn
how to hack mobile devices (PDAs, cell phones), gaming systems (Xbox,
PS/2, Atari), audio/visual equipment (TiVo boxes, home theater PCs),
computer equipment (iMacs, laptops, mini-motherboards), and much more.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/1932266836/


***Oracle Essentials, 3rd Edition: Oracle Database 10g
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0-596-00585-7
"Oracle Essentials, 3rd Edition: Oracle Database 10g" distills a vast
amount of knowledge into an easy-to-read volume. The new edition of 
this
classic book covers the full range of Oracle's features and 
technologies,
including the product line, architecture, data structures, networking,
concurrency, and tuning. With a new overview of Oracle 10g, as well as
coverage of recent releases 9i and 8i, this book provides everything 
you
need to install and run Oracle databases. If you're new to Oracle or
upgrading to Oracle 10g, you'll find this comprehensive guide 
essential.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/oressentials3/

Chapter 1, "Introducing Oracle," is available online:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/oressentials3/chapter/index.html


***Squid: The Definitive Guide
Publisher: O'Reilly
ISBN: 0596001622
Squid is the most popular web caching software in use today, and it 
works
on a variety of platforms including Linux, FreeBSD, and Windows. 
Written
by Duane Wessels, the creator of Squid, this book will help you 
configure
and tune Squid for your particular situation. Newcomers to Squid will
learn how to download, compile, and install code. Seasoned users will 
be
able to dive into advanced topics such as high-performance storage
options, rewriting requests, HTTP server acceleration, monitoring,
debugging, and troubleshooting Squid.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/squid/

Chapter 8, "Advanced Disk Cache Topics," is available online.
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/squid/chapter/index.html

================================================
Upcoming Events
================================================
***For more events, please see:
http://events.oreilly.com/

***Tony Stubblebine ("Regular Expression Pocket Reference"), 
Oakland, CA--March 9
Tony will explain how to decrease development time while increasing
reliability and readability of regular expressions.
March 9, 7:30-9:30pm
For more information, go to:
http://oakland.pm.org/


***Mac User Group Day at O'Reilly in Sebastopol, CA--April 24
Join O'Reilly and NCMUG for a special Mac User Group Day in Sebastopol,
California on Saturday, April 24 from 2-6pm.

Speakers include Derrick Story ("Digital Photography Pocket Guide,
2nd Edition," "iPhoto 2: The Missing Manual"), Chris Stone
("Mac OS X Panther in a Nutshell"), Tom Negrino & Dori Smith
("Mac OS X Unwired"), and Scott Fullam ("Hardware Hacking Projects
for Geeks").

For more information and a complete schedule of events, go to:
http://ug.oreilly.com/banners/macugday_hi_res.pdf

Please RSVP to let us know you will be attending at 
mugevent@oreilly.com.

Mac User Group Day
2:00pm-6:00pm, Saturday, April 24
O'Reilly
1005 Gravenstein Hwy North
Sebastopol, CA  95472
800-998-9938 Ext. 7103
For directions, go to:
http://www.oreilly.com/oreilly/seb_directions.html


================================================
Conference News
================================================
***O'Reilly's Digital Democracy Teach-In 
This year's O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference began with an
impressive set of tutorials. But you also had the option to spend the
first day of the conference at the Digital Democracy Teach-In, learning
how to take back control of a different sort of operating system. 
Daniel
Steinberg reports on sessions by Joe Trippi, former campaign manager 
for
Howard Dean; Wes Boyd, co-founder of MoveOn.org; Scott Heiferman,
co-founder and CEO of Meetup.com; and many more.
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2004/02/10/digdemo.html


***Annotating Everything: Marc A. Smith at ETech
Daniel Steinberg reports from O'Reilly's Emerging Technology Conference
with an in-depth look at Marc A. Smith's session "Catalyzing Collective
Action on the Net." Marc demonstrated several tools that show promise 
as
ways to enhance online communities.
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2004/02/11/etech_keynotes.html

Find complete news coverage, the conference wiki, weblogs, photos, and
much more on O'Reilly Network's ETech 2004 Conference Coverage page:
http://www.oreillynet.com/et2004/

================================================
News From O'Reilly & Beyond
================================================
---------------------
General News
---------------------
***Happy Hacking! 
Mike Langberg writes, "Most of us look at a toaster and see a kitchen
appliance for crisping bread. Scott Fullam looks at a toaster and sees 
an
engineering challenge...," in this "Mercury News" book review of
"Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks."
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/7889687.htm

Hardware Hacking Projects for Geeks 
ISBN: 0596003145
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/hardwarehks/


***Finalists for the 2004 Jolt Awards
Software Development magazine recently announced the finalists for the
14th annual Jolt Product Excellence and Productivity Awards. Among the
finalists are java.net and the O'Reilly Network in the category of
"Websites and Developer Networks," and Head First Java and Programming
.NET Windows Applications in the "Books--Technical" category. The 
awards
ceremony will take place on March 17 during SD West 2004.
http://sdmagazine.com/jolts/


***Safari Gets Bigger and Better
Safari Bookshelf, the premier electronic reference library for IT
professionals and programmers, now holds more than 2,000 books from the
industry's leading technical publishers. As the library grows, so does 
its
functionality: searches are powerfully precise and as broad or specific 
as
you wish. And now, with a Safari Max subscription, you can download
chapters to read offline. Safari will help you save time, reduce 
errors,
keep current, and save more money than ever with up to 35% off print
copies of your favorite books. If you haven't yet gone on Safari, get a
free trial subscription.
https://secure.safaribooksonline.com/promo.asp?code=ORAUG&portal=oreilly&CMP=BAC-TP2974244892

---------------------
Open Source
---------------------
***Things Squid Administrators Should Know
New users often struggle with the same frustrating set of 
idiosyncrasies
involved in learning Squid, the popular web caching software. Here are 
six
things you should know about using Squid from the get-go, from Duane
Wessels, creator of Squid and author of "Squid: The Definitive Guide."
http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2004/02/12/squid.html


***A Ticketing System for a Three-Tiered Architecture 
Modern business apps often use a three-tiered architecture, separating 
the
user interface from the data store from the application logic. Of 
course,
this separation can add wait time, as users wait for their requests to
process. Elena Garderman and Howard Feldman explain how adding a 
ticketing
system can improve the process.
http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2004/02/12/ticket_system.html

---------------------
Mac
---------------------
***Home Automation with Mac OS X, Part 1 
Having more control over how your home operates isn't just a geek 
fantasy.
You can lower energy costs, improve security, and enhance the overall
ambiance of your humble abode. Alan Graham shows you how to leverage 
your
Mac OS X computer and get started.
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/02/13/home_automation.html


***Automated Backups with Existing Tools 
Backing up your hard disc is the job nobody wants to do--and even more 
so,
no one wants to spend a lot of money doing it. Fortunately, Apple gives
you everything you need in Mac OS X. You just have to pull it together.
Peter Hickman shows you how.
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/02/10/backup.html

---------------------
Windows
---------------------
***Protect Yourself Against Denial-of-Service Attacks 
The only way to defend yourself is to understand your attacker 
in-depth.
This excerpt from the recently released "Security Warrior" by Cyrus
Peikari and Anton Chuvakin details denial-of-service attacks against
Windows XP. Read it and prepare yourself.
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/windows/excerpt/swarrior_ch13/index1.html

 ---------------------
Java
---------------------
***Book Preview: Eclipse
The new Eclipse Foundation was recently announced at EclipseCon, and 
the
Eclipse project is moving toward a June release of Eclipse 3.0. 
O'Reilly
will publish Steve Holzner's "Eclipse: A Java Developer's Guide" this
summer.
http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2004/02/04/AntEclipse.html

A beta preview of Chapter 5, "Building Eclipse Projects Using Ant," is
available online:
http://www.onjava.com/onjava/2004/02/04/AntEclipse.pdf


***Six Cool New JSP and Servlet Features
Bruce Perry describes six cool new features that Java developers who 
use
Tomcat 5.x and other Servlet-API-2.4- and JSP-2.0-compliant containers
will want to use in their projects. Bruce is the author of "Java 
Servlet 
& JSP Cookbook."
http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2004/02/11/jspcookbook.html

---------------------
Web
---------------------
***O'Reilly Network Is SXSW Web Awards Finalist
South by Southwest (SXSW) has announced the finalists for its 2004 Web
Awards, and the O'Reilly Network has been selected as a finalist in the
"Classic" category. Cast your vote for your favorite finalist by March 
5;
winners will be announced at the Web Awards gala on March 14 in Austin,
Texas.
http://sxsw.com/interactive/web_awards/finalists/

Vote today:
http://www.sxsw.com/vote/peoples_choice/

---------------------
.NET
---------------------
***ADO.NET Connection Pooling Explained
Because the .NET managed providers manage the connection pool for us,
using shared database connections is as easy as a summertime splash in 
the
kiddie pool. But if those connections unexpectedly become invalid you
could find yourself floundering in the deep end. In this new article,
James Still will have you doing laps in no time.
http://www.ondotnet.com/pub/a/dotnet/2004/02/09/connpool.html

***Cooking with C# 
Learn how to convert a string returned as a Byte[ ] back into a string 
and
how to handle an exception that occurs within a method invoked via
reflection in these sample recipes from O'Reilly's recently released 
"C# Cookbook."
http://www.ondotnet.com/pub/a/dotnet/excerpt/csharpckbk_chap01/index.html

================================================
News From Your Peers
================================================
***Check out the new O'Reilly User Group Wiki for the latest news
You can look for a meeting, user group, or post information any time 
you
want.
http://wiki.oreillynet.com/usergroups/view?HomePage

Until next time--

Marsee